Wireless Power Receiver for Receiving High Power High Frequency Transfer

ABSTRACT

Wireless power transfer systems, disclosed, include one or more circuits to facilitate high power transfer at high frequencies. Such wireless power transfer systems may include voltage isolation circuits, to isolate components of the wireless receiver systems from high voltage signals intended for a load associated with the receiver. The voltage isolation circuit includes at least two capacitors, wherein the at least two capacitors are in electrical parallel with respect to the controller capacitor. The voltage isolation circuit is configured to regulate the AC wireless power signal to have a voltage input range for input to the receiver controller and isolate a voltage at the receiver controller from a voltage at the load associated with the wireless receiver system. Utilizing such systems enables wireless power transfer at high frequency, such as 13.56 MHz, at voltages over 1 Watt, while maintaining durability and lifecycle of components of the wireless receiver system(s).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.application Ser. No. 16/914,406, filed on Jun. 28, 2020 and entitled“WIRELESS POWER RECEIVER FOR RECEIVING HIGH POWER HIGH FREQUENCYTRANSFER,” which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods forwireless transfer of electrical power and/or electrical data signals,and, more particularly, to high frequency wireless power transfer atelevated power levels, while protecting system components fromelectrical characteristics associated with higher power.

BACKGROUND

Wireless connection systems are used in a variety of applications forthe wireless transfer of electrical energy, electrical power,electromagnetic energy, electrical data signals, among other knownwirelessly transmittable signals. Such systems often use inductivewireless power transfer, which occurs when magnetic fields created by atransmitting element induce an electric field, and hence, an electriccurrent, in a receiving element. These transmitting and receivingelements will often take the form of coiled wires and/or antennas.

Transmission of one or more of electrical energy, electrical power,electromagnetic energy and/or electronic data signals from one of suchcoiled antennas to another, generally, operates at an operatingfrequency and/or an operating frequency range. The operating frequencymay be selected for a variety of reasons, such as, but not limited to,power transfer characteristics, power level characteristics,self-resonant frequency restraints, design requirements, adherence tostandards bodies' required characteristics (e.g. electromagneticinterference (EMI) requirements, specific absorption rate (SAR)requirements, among other things), bill of materials (BOM), and/or formfactor constraints, among other things. It is to be noted that,“self-resonating frequency,” as known to those having skill in the art,generally refers to the resonant frequency of a passive component (e.g.,an inductor) due to the parasitic characteristics of the component.

When such systems operate to wirelessly transfer power from atransmission system to a receiver system, via the coils and/or antennas,it is often desired to simultaneously or intermittently communicateelectronic data from one system to the other. To that end, a variety ofcommunications systems, methods, and/or apparatus have been utilized forcombined wireless power and wireless data transfer. In some examplesystems, wireless power transfer related communications (e.g.,validation procedures, electronic characteristics data communications,voltage data, current data, device type data, among other contemplateddata communications) are performed using other circuitry, such as anoptional Near Field Communications (NFC) antenna utilized to complimentthe wireless power system and/or additional Bluetooth chipsets for datacommunications, among other known communications circuits and/orantennas.

However, using additional antennas and/or circuitry can give rise toseveral disadvantages. For instance, using additional antennas and/orcircuitry can be inefficient and/or can increase the BOM of a wirelesspower system, which raises the cost for putting wireless power into anelectronic device. Further, in some such systems, out of bandcommunications caused by such additional antennas may result ininterference, such as out of band cross-talk between such antennas.Further yet, inclusion of such additional antennas and/or circuitry canresult in worsened EMI, as introduction of the additional system willcause greater harmonic distortion, in comparison to a system whereinboth a wireless power signal and a data signal are within the samechannel. Still further, inclusion of additional antennas and/orcircuitry hardware, for communications, may increase the area within adevice, for which the wireless power systems and/or components thereofreside, complicating a build of an end product.

To avoid these issues, as has been illustrated with modern NFC DirectCharge (NFC-DC) systems and/or NFC Wireless Charging systems incommercial devices, legacy hardware and/or hardware based on legacydevices may be leveraged to implement both wireless power transfer anddata transfer, either simultaneously or in an alternating manner.However, current communications antennas and/or circuits for highfrequency communications, when leveraged for wireless power transfer,have much lower power level capabilities than lower frequency wirelesspower transfer systems, such as the Wireless Power Consortium's Qistandard devices. Utilizing higher power levels in current highfrequency circuits may result in damage to the legacy equipment.

Additionally, when utilizing higher power transfer capabilities in suchhigh frequency systems, such as those found in legacy systems, wirelesscommunications may be degraded when wireless power transfer exceeds lowpower levels (e.g., 300 mW transferred and below). However, withoutclearly communicable and non-distorted data communications, wirelesspower transfer may not be feasible.

SUMMARY

To that end, new high frequency wireless power systems, which utilizenew circuits for allowing higher power transfer (greater than 300 mW),without damaging circuitry and/or without degrading communications belowa desired standard data protocol, are desired.

The wireless receiver systems disclosed herein utilize a voltageisolation circuit, which may have the capability to achieve proper datacommunications fidelity at greater receipt power levels at the load,when compared to other high frequency wireless power transmissionsystems. To that end, the wireless receiver systems, with the voltageisolation circuits, are capable of receiving power from the wirelesstransmission system that has an output power at levels over 1 W ofpower, whereas legacy high frequency systems may be limited to receiptfrom output levels of only less than 1 W of power.

For example, in legacy NFC-DC systems, the poller (receiver system)often utilizes a microprocessor from the NTAG family of microprocessors,which was initially designed for very low power data communications.NTAG microprocessors, without protection or isolation, may notadequately and/or efficiently receive wireless power signals at outputlevels over 1 W. However, inventors of the present application havefound, in experimental results, that when utilizing voltage isolationcircuits as disclosed herein, the NTAG chip may be utilized and/orretrofitted for wireless power transfer and wireless communications,either independently or simultaneously.

To that end, the voltage isolation circuits disclosed herein may utilizeinexpensive components (e.g., isolation capacitors) to modifyfunctionality of legacy, inexpensive microprocessors (e.g., an NTAGfamily microprocessor), for new uses and/or improved functionality.Further, while alternative controllers may be used as the receivercontroller 38 that may be more capable of receipt at higher voltagelevels and/or voltage swings, such controllers may be cost prohibitive,in comparison to legacy controllers. Accordingly, the systems andmethods herein allow for use of less costly components, for high powerhigh frequency wireless power transfer.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a wireless receiversystem is disclosed. The wireless receiver system includes a receiverantenna, a power conditioning system, and a receiver controller. Thereceiver antenna is configured for coupling with the transmitter antennaand receiving the AC wireless signals from the transmitter antenna, thereceiver antenna operating based on the operating frequency. The powerconditioning system is configured to (i) receive the wireless powersignals, (ii) convert the wireless power signal from an AC wirelesspower signal to a DC wireless power signal, and (iii) provide the DCpower signal to, at least, a load associated with the wireless powerreceiver system. The receiver controller is configured to perform one ormore of encoding the wireless data signals, decoding the wireless datasignals, receiving the wireless data signals, or transmitting thewireless data signals. The voltage isolation circuit includes at leasttwo capacitors, wherein the at least two capacitors are in electricalparallel with respect to the controller capacitor. The voltage isolationcircuit is configured to (i) regulate the AC wireless power signal tohave a voltage input range for input to the receiver controller and (ii)isolate a controller voltage at the receiver controller from a loadvoltage at the load associated with the wireless receiver system.

In a refinement, the wireless power receiver further includes acapacitor configured for scaling the AC wireless power signal at thecontroller voltage, as altered and received from the voltage isolationcircuit.

In a refinement, the wireless power receiver further includes a shuntcapacitor in electrical parallel with the receiver antenna.

In a refinement, the controller voltage is altered at a data pin of thecontroller.

In a refinement, a first capacitance (CISO1) of a first capacitor of theat least two capacitors and a second capacitance (CISO2) of a secondcapacitor of the at least two capacitors are configured such that:

CISO1∥CISO2=CTOTAL

wherein CTOTAL is a total capacitance for the voltage isolation circuit,and wherein CTOTAL is a constant configured for the voltage input rangefor input to the controller.

In a further refinement, the values for the first capacitance and thesecond capacitance are set such that:

${C_{{ISO}1} = \frac{C_{TOTAL}*\left( {1 + t_{v}} \right)}{t_{V}}},$C_(ISO2) = C_(TOTAL) * (1 + t_(v)).

In a yet a further refinement, t_(v) is in a scaling factor in a rangeof about 3 to about 10.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a circuit for awireless power receiver is disclosed. The wireless power receiverconfigured for receiving an alternating current (AC) wireless signalfrom a wireless power transmission system, the wireless signalincluding, at least, wireless power signals and wireless data signals.The circuit includes a voltage isolation circuit and a controllercapacitor. The voltage isolation circuit includes a first capacitor anda second capacitor. The controller capacitor is configured for scalingthe AC wireless power at the controller voltage, as altered and receivedfrom the voltage isolation circuit, the controller capacitor in serieselectrical connection with a data input of a controller of the wirelesspower receiver. The first and second capacitors of the voltage isolationcircuit are configured to regulate the AC wireless power signals to havea voltage input range for input to the controller, the voltage isolationcircuit configured to isolate the controller voltage at the controllerfrom a load voltage at a load associated with the wireless receiversystem.

In a refinement, the controller capacitor is configured for scaling theAC wireless power at the controller voltage as altered and received fromthe voltage isolation circuit.

In a refinement, the circuit further includes a shunt capacitor inelectrical parallel with a receiver antenna of the wireless powerreceiver.

In a refinement, the wireless data signals are in-band on-off-keyingsignals of the wireless power signal.

In a refinement, a first capacitance (CISO1) of a first capacitor of theat least two capacitors and a second capacitance (CISO2) of a secondcapacitor of the at least two capacitors are configured such that:

CISO1∥CISO2=CTOTAL

wherein CTOTAL is a total capacitance for the voltage isolation circuit,and wherein CTOTAL is a constant configured for the voltage input rangefor input to the controller.

In a further refinement, the values for the first capacitance and thesecond capacitance are set such that:

${C_{{ISO}1} = \frac{C_{TOTAL}*\left( {1 + t_{v}} \right)}{t_{V}}},$C_(ISO2) = C_(TOTAL) * (1 + t_(v)).

In a yet a further refinement, t_(v) is in a scaling factor in a rangeof about 3 to about 10.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the disclosure, a poller for aNear-Field Communications Direct Charge (NFC-DC) system is disclosed.The poller includes a receiver antenna, a power conditioning system, anda receiver controller. The receiver antenna is configured for couplingwith the transmitter antenna and receiving the AC wireless signals fromthe transmitter antenna, the receiver antenna operating based on theoperating frequency. The power conditioning system is configured to (i)receive the wireless power signals, (ii) convert the wireless powersignal from an AC wireless power signal to a DC wireless power signal,and (iii) provide the DC power signal to, at least, a load associatedwith the wireless power receiver system. The receiver controller isconfigured to perform one or more of encoding the wireless data signals,decoding the wireless data signals, receiving the wireless data signals,or transmitting the wireless data signals.

In a refinement, the operating frequency is in a range of about 13.553MHz to about 13.567 MHz.

In a refinement, the received power of the wireless power signals are ata power greater than about 300 mW.

In a refinement, a first capacitance (CISO1) of a first capacitor of theat least two capacitors and a second capacitance (CISO2) of a secondcapacitor of the at least two capacitors are configured such that:

CISO1∥CISO2=CTOTAL

wherein CTOTAL is a total capacitance for the voltage isolation circuit,and wherein CTOTAL is a constant configured for the voltage input rangefor input to the controller.

In a further refinement, the values for the first capacitance and thesecond capacitance are set such that:

${C_{{ISO}1} = \frac{C_{TOTAL}*\left( {1 + t_{v}} \right)}{t_{V}}},$C_(ISO2) = C_(TOTAL) * (1 + t_(v)).

In a refinement, the controller is an NTAG controller and the acceptablevoltage input range is an acceptable voltage input range for the NTAGcontroller.

In a refinement, the poller further includes a voltage isolation circuitincluding at least two capacitors, the at least two capacitors inelectrical series, with input to the receiver controller therebetween,and configured to regulate the AC wireless power signal to have avoltage input range for input to the controller, the voltage isolationcircuit configured to isolate a controller voltage at the controllerfrom a load voltage at a load associated with the poller.

In a further refinement, a first capacitance (CISO1) of a firstcapacitor of the at least two capacitors of the voltage isolationcircuit and a second capacitance (CISO2) of a second capacitor of the atleast two capacitors of the voltage isolation circuit are configuredsuch that:

CISO1∥CISO2=CTOTAL

wherein CTOTAL is a total capacitance for the voltage isolation circuit,and wherein CTOTAL is a constant configured for the voltage input rangefor input to the controller.

These and other aspects and features of the present disclosure will bebetter understood when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for wirelesslytransferring one or more of electrical energy, electrical power signals,electrical power, electromagnetic energy, electronic data, andcombinations thereof, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating components of a wirelesstransmission system of the system of FIG. 1 and a wireless receiversystem of the system of FIG. 1 , in accordance with FIG. 1 and thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of a transmissioncontrol system of the wireless transmission system of FIG. 2 , inaccordance with FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of a sensing system ofthe transmission control system of FIG. 3 , in accordance with FIGS. 1-3and the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating components of a powerconditioning system of the wireless transmission system of FIG. 2 , inaccordance with FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating components of a receiver controlsystem and a receiver power conditioning system of the wireless receiversystem of FIG. 2 , in accordance with FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , and the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of elements of the wireless receiver system ofFIGS. 1-2 and 6 , further illustrating components of an amplifier of thepower conditioning system of FIG. 6 and signal characteristics forwireless power transmission, in accordance with FIGS. 1-2, 6 , and thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an electrical schematic diagram of elements of the wirelessreceiver system of FIGS. 1-2 and 6-7 , further illustrating componentsof an amplifier of the power conditioning system of FIGS. 6-7 , inaccordance with FIGS. 1-2, 6-7 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a non-limiting, exemplary antenna, for use asone or both of a transmission antenna and a receiver antenna of thesystem of FIGS. 1-7, 9-11 and/or any other systems, methods, orapparatus disclosed herein, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is an exemplary method for designing a system for wirelesstransmission of one or more of electrical energy, electrical powersignals, electrical power, electrical electromagnetic energy, electronicdata, and combinations thereof, in accordance with FIGS. 1-9 , and thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for an exemplary method for designing a wirelesstransmission system for the system of FIG. 10 , in accordance with FIGS.1-10 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for an exemplary method for designing a wirelessreceiver system for the system of FIG. 10 , in accordance with FIGS.1-10 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart for an exemplary method for manufacturing asystem for wireless transmission of one or more of electrical energy,electrical power signals, electrical power, electrical electromagneticenergy, electronic data, and combinations thereof, in accordance withFIGS. 1-19 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart for an exemplary method for manufacturing awireless transmission system for the system of FIG. 20 , in accordancewith FIGS. 1-9, 13 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart for an exemplary method for designing a wirelessreceiver system for the system of FIG. 13 , in accordance with FIGS.1-9, 13 , and the present disclosure.

While the following detailed description will be given with respect tocertain illustrative embodiments, it should be understood that thedrawings are not necessarily to scale and the disclosed embodiments aresometimes illustrated diagrammatically and in partial views. Inaddition, in certain instances, details which are not necessary for anunderstanding of the disclosed subject matter or which render otherdetails too difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It shouldtherefore be understood that this disclosure is not limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed and illustrated herein, but rather to afair reading of the entire disclosure and claims, as well as anyequivalents thereto. Additional, different, or fewer components andmethods may be included in the systems and methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth byway of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of therelevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentteachings.

Referring now to the drawings and with specific reference to FIG. 1 , awireless power transfer system 10 is illustrated. The wireless powertransfer system 10 provides for the wireless transmission of electricalsignals, such as, but not limited to, electrical energy, electricalpower, electrical power signals, electromagnetic energy, andelectronically transmittable data (“electronic data”). As used herein,the term “electrical power signal” refers to an electrical signaltransmitted specifically to provide meaningful electrical energy forcharging and/or directly powering a load, whereas the term “electronicdata signal” refers to an electrical signal that is utilized to conveydata across a medium.

The wireless power transfer system 10 provides for the wirelesstransmission of electrical signals via near field magnetic coupling. Asshown in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the wireless power transfer system10 includes a wireless transmission system 20 and a wireless receiversystem 30. The wireless receiver system is configured to receiveelectrical signals from, at least, the wireless transmission system 20.In some examples, such as examples wherein the wireless power transfersystem is configured for wireless power transfer via the Near FieldCommunications Direct Charge (NFC-DC) or Near Field CommunicationsWireless Charging (NFC WC) draft or accepted standard, the wirelesstransmission system 20 may be referenced as a “listener” of the NFC-DCwireless transfer system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30 may bereferenced as a “poller” of the NFC-DC wireless transfer system.

As illustrated, the wireless transmission system 20 and wirelessreceiver system 30 may be configured to transmit electrical signalsacross, at least, a separation distance or gap 17. A separation distanceor gap, such as the gap 17, in the context of a wireless power transfersystem, such as the system 10, does not include a physical connection,such as a wired connection. There may be intermediary objects located ina separation distance or gap, such as, but not limited to, air, acounter top, a casing for an electronic device, a plastic filament, aninsulator, a mechanical wall, among other things; however, there is nophysical, electrical connection at such a separation distance or gap.

Thus, the combination of the wireless transmission system 20 and thewireless receiver system 30 create an electrical connection without theneed for a physical connection. As used herein, the term “electricalconnection” refers to any facilitation of a transfer of an electricalcurrent, voltage, and/or power from a first location, device, component,and/or source to a second location, device, component, and/ordestination. An “electrical connection” may be a physical connection,such as, but not limited to, a wire, a trace, a via, among otherphysical electrical connections, connecting a first location, device,component, and/or source to a second location, device, component, and/ordestination. Additionally or alternatively, an “electrical connection”may be a wireless power and/or data transfer, such as, but not limitedto, magnetic, electromagnetic, resonant, and/or inductive field, amongother wireless power and/or data transfers, connecting a first location,device, component, and/or source to a second location, device,component, and/or destination.

In some cases, the gap 17 may also be referenced as a “Z-Distance,”because, if one considers an antenna 21, 31 each to be disposedsubstantially along respective common X-Y planes, then the distanceseparating the antennas 21, 31 is the gap in a “Z” or “depth” direction.However, flexible and/or non-planar coils are certainly contemplated byembodiments of the present disclosure and, thus, it is contemplated thatthe gap 17 may not be uniform, across an envelope of connectiondistances between the antennas 21, 31. It is contemplated that varioustunings, configurations, and/or other parameters may alter the possiblemaximum distance of the gap 17, such that electrical transmission fromthe wireless transmission system 20 to the wireless receiver system 30remains possible.

The wireless power transfer system 10 operates when the wirelesstransmission system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30 are coupled.As used herein, the terms “couples,” “coupled,” and “coupling” generallyrefer to magnetic field coupling, which occurs when a transmitter and/orany components thereof and a receiver and/or any components thereof arecoupled to each other through a magnetic field. Such coupling mayinclude coupling, represented by a coupling coefficient (k), that is atleast sufficient for an induced electrical power signal, from atransmitter, to be harnessed by a receiver. Coupling of the wirelesstransmission system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30, in thesystem 10, may be represented by a resonant coupling coefficient of thesystem 10 and, for the purposes of wireless power transfer, the couplingcoefficient for the system 10 may be in the range of about 0.01 and 0.9.

As illustrated, the wireless transmission system 20 may be associatedwith a host device 11, which may receive power from an input powersource 12. The host device 11 may be any electrically operated device,circuit board, electronic assembly, dedicated charging device, or anyother contemplated electronic device. Example host devices 11, withwhich the wireless transmission system 20 may be associated therewith,include, but are not limited to including, a device that includes anintegrated circuit, cases for wearable electronic devices, receptaclesfor electronic devices, a portable computing device, clothing configuredwith electronics, storage medium for electronic devices, chargingapparatus for one or multiple electronic devices, dedicated electricalcharging devices, activity or sport related equipment, goods, and/ordata collection devices, among other contemplated electronic devices.

As illustrated, one or both of the wireless transmission system 20 andthe host device 11 are operatively associated with an input power source12. The input power source 12 may be or may include one or moreelectrical storage devices, such as an electrochemical cell, a batterypack, and/or a capacitor, among other storage devices. Additionally oralternatively, the input power source 12 may be any electrical inputsource (e.g., any alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC)delivery port) and may include connection apparatus from said electricalinput source to the wireless transmission system 20 (e.g., transformers,regulators, conductive conduits, traces, wires, or equipment, goods,computer, camera, mobile phone, and/or other electrical deviceconnection ports and/or adaptors, such as but not limited to USB portsand/or adaptors, among other contemplated electrical components).

Electrical energy received by the wireless transmission system 20 isthen used for at least two purposes: to provide electrical power tointernal components of the wireless transmission system 20 and toprovide electrical power to the transmitter antenna 21. The transmitterantenna 21 is configured to wirelessly transmit the electrical signalsconditioned and modified for wireless transmission by the wirelesstransmission system 20 via near-field magnetic coupling (NFMC).Near-field magnetic coupling enables the transfer of signals wirelesslythrough magnetic induction between the transmitter antenna 21 and areceiving antenna 31 of, or associated with, the wireless receiversystem 30. Near-field magnetic coupling may be and/or be referred to as“inductive coupling,” which, as used herein, is a wireless powertransmission technique that utilizes an alternating electromagneticfield to transfer electrical energy between two antennas. Such inductivecoupling is the near field wireless transmission of magnetic energybetween two magnetically coupled coils that are tuned to resonate at asimilar frequency. Accordingly, such near-field magnetic coupling mayenable efficient wireless power transmission via resonant transmissionof confined magnetic fields. Further, such near-field magnetic couplingmay provide connection via “mutual inductance,” which, as defined hereinis the production of an electromotive force in a circuit by a change incurrent in a second circuit magnetically coupled to the first.

In one or more embodiments, the inductor coils of either the transmitterantenna 21 or the receiver antenna 31 are strategically positioned tofacilitate reception and/or transmission of wirelessly transferredelectrical signals through near field magnetic induction. Antennaoperating frequencies may comprise relatively high operating frequencyranges, examples of which may include, but are not limited to, 6.78 MHz(e.g., in accordance with the Rezence and/or Airfuel interface standardand/or any other proprietary interface standard operating at a frequencyof 6.78 MHz), 13.56 MHz (e.g., in accordance with the NFC standard,defined by ISO/IEC standard 18092), 27 MHz, and/or an operatingfrequency of another proprietary operating mode. The operatingfrequencies of the antennas 21, 31 may be operating frequenciesdesignated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in theIndustrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency bands, including notlimited to 6.78 MHz, 13.56 MHz, and 27 MHz, which are designated for usein wireless power transfer. In systems wherein the wireless powertransfer system 10 is operating within the NFC-DC standards and/or draftstandards, the operating frequency may be in a range of about 13.553 MHzto about 13.567 MHz.

The transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna of the presentdisclosure may be configured to transmit and/or receive electrical powerhaving a magnitude that ranges from about 10 milliwatts (mW) to about500 watts (W). In one or more embodiments the inductor coil of thetransmitting antenna 21 is configured to resonate at a transmittingantenna resonant frequency or within a transmitting antenna resonantfrequency band.

As known to those skilled in the art, a “resonant frequency” or“resonant frequency band” refers a frequency or frequencies whereinamplitude response of the antenna is at a relative maximum, or,additionally or alternatively, the frequency or frequency band where thecapacitive reactance has a magnitude substantially similar to themagnitude of the inductive reactance. In one or more embodiments, thetransmitting antenna resonant frequency is at a high frequency, as knownto those in the art of wireless power transfer.

The wireless receiver system 30 may be associated with at least oneelectronic device 14, wherein the electronic device 14 may be any devicethat requires electrical power for any function and/or for power storage(e.g., via a battery and/or capacitor). Additionally, the electronicdevice 14 may be any device capable of receipt of electronicallytransmissible data. For example, the device may be, but is not limitedto being, a handheld computing device, a mobile device, a portableappliance, an integrated circuit, an identifiable tag, a kitchen utilitydevice, an electronic tool, an electric vehicle, a game console, arobotic device, a wearable electronic device (e.g., an electronic watch,electronically modified glasses, altered-reality (AR) glasses, virtualreality (VR) glasses, among other things), a portable scanning device, aportable identifying device, a sporting good, an embedded sensor, anInternet of Things (IoT) sensor, IoT enabled clothing, IoT enabledrecreational equipment, industrial equipment, medical equipment, amedical device a tablet computing device, a portable control device, aremote controller for an electronic device, a gaming controller, amongother things.

For the purposes of illustrating the features and characteristics of thedisclosed embodiments, arrow-ended lines are utilized to illustratetransferrable and/or communicative signals and various patterns are usedto illustrate electrical signals that are intended for powertransmission and electrical signals that are intended for thetransmission of data and/or control instructions. Solid lines indicatesignal transmission of electrical energy over a physical and/or wirelesspower transfer, in the form of power signals that are, ultimately,utilized in wireless power transmission from the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to the wireless receiver system 30. Further, dotted lines areutilized to illustrate electronically transmittable data signals, whichultimately may be wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to the wireless receiver system 30.

While the systems and methods herein illustrate the transmission ofwirelessly transmitted energy, wireless power signals, wirelesslytransmitted power, wirelessly transmitted electromagnetic energy, and/orelectronically transmittable data, it is certainly contemplated that thesystems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein may be utilized in thetransmission of only one signal, various combinations of two signals, ormore than two signals and, further, it is contemplated that the systems,method, and apparatus disclosed herein may be utilized for wirelesstransmission of other electrical signals in addition to or uniquely incombination with one or more of the above mentioned signals. In someexamples, the signal paths of solid or dotted lines may represent afunctional signal path, whereas, in practical application, the actualsignal is routed through additional components en route to its indicateddestination. For example, it may be indicated that a data signal routesfrom a communications apparatus to another communications apparatus;however, in practical application, the data signal may be routed throughan amplifier, then through a transmission antenna, to a receiverantenna, where, on the receiver end, the data signal is decoded by arespective communications device of the receiver.

Turning now to FIG. 2 , the wireless connection system 10 is illustratedas a block diagram including example sub-systems of both the wirelesstransmission system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30. The wirelesstransmission system 20 may include, at least, a power conditioningsystem 40, a transmission control system 26, a transmission tuningsystem 24, and the transmission antenna 21. A first portion of theelectrical energy input from the input power source 12 is configured toelectrically power components of the wireless transmission system 20such as, but not limited to, the transmission control system 26. Asecond portion of the electrical energy input from the input powersource 12 is conditioned and/or modified for wireless powertransmission, to the wireless receiver system 30, via the transmissionantenna 21. Accordingly, the second portion of the input energy ismodified and/or conditioned by the power conditioning system 40. Whilenot illustrated, it is certainly contemplated that one or both of thefirst and second portions of the input electrical energy may bemodified, conditioned, altered, and/or otherwise changed prior toreceipt by the power conditioning system 40 and/or transmission controlsystem 26, by further contemplated subsystems (e.g., a voltageregulator, a current regulator, switching systems, fault systems, safetyregulators, among other things).

Referring now to FIG. 3 , with continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 ,subcomponents and/or systems of the transmission control system 26 areillustrated. The transmission control system 26 may include a sensingsystem 50, a transmission controller 28, a communications system 29, adriver 48, and a memory 27.

The transmission controller 28 may be any electronic controller orcomputing system that includes, at least, a processor which performsoperations, executes control algorithms, stores data, retrieves data,gathers data, controls and/or provides communication with othercomponents and/or subsystems associated with the wireless transmissionsystem 20, and/or performs any other computing or controlling taskdesired. The transmission controller 28 may be a single controller ormay include more than one controller disposed to control variousfunctions and/or features of the wireless transmission system 20.Functionality of the transmission controller 28 may be implemented inhardware and/or software and may rely on one or more data maps relatingto the operation of the wireless transmission system 20. To that end,the transmission controller 28 may be operatively associated with thememory 27. The memory may include one or more of internal memory,external memory, and/or remote memory (e.g., a database and/or serveroperatively connected to the transmission controller 28 via a network,such as, but not limited to, the Internet). The internal memory and/orexternal memory may include, but are not limited to including, one ormore of a read only memory (ROM), including programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM orsometimes but rarely labelled EROM), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), random access memory (RAM), including dynamicRAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), singledata rate synchronous dynamic RAM (SDR SDRAM), double data ratesynchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4), and graphicsdouble data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (GDDR SDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3,GDDR4, GDDR5, a flash memory, a portable memory, and the like. Suchmemory media are examples of nontransitory machine readable and/orcomputer readable memory media.

While particular elements of the transmission control system 26 areillustrated as independent components and/or circuits (e.g., the driver48, the memory 27, the communications system 29, the sensing system 50,among other contemplated elements) of the transmission control system26, such components may be integrated with the transmission controller28. In some examples, the transmission controller 28 may be anintegrated circuit configured to include functional elements of one orboth of the transmission controller 28 and the wireless transmissionsystem 20, generally.

As illustrated, the transmission controller 28 is in operativeassociation, for the purposes of data transmission, receipt, and/orcommunication, with, at least, the memory 27, the communications system29, the power conditioning system 40, the driver 48, and the sensingsystem 50. The driver 48 may be implemented to control, at least inpart, the operation of the power conditioning system 40. In someexamples, the driver 48 may receive instructions from the transmissioncontroller 28 to generate and/or output a generated pulse widthmodulation (PWM) signal to the power conditioning system 40. In somesuch examples, the PWM signal may be configured to drive the powerconditioning system 40 to output electrical power as an alternatingcurrent signal, having an operating frequency defined by the PWM signal.In some examples, PWM signal may be configured to generate a duty cyclefor the AC power signal output by the power conditioning system 40. Insome such examples, the duty cycle may be configured to be about 50% ofa given period of the AC power signal.

The sensing system may include one or more sensors, wherein each sensormay be operatively associated with one or more components of thewireless transmission system 20 and configured to provide informationand/or data. The term “sensor” is used in its broadest interpretation todefine one or more components operatively associated with the wirelesstransmission system 20 that operate to sense functions, conditions,electrical characteristics, operations, and/or operating characteristicsof one or more of the wireless transmission system 20, the wirelessreceiving system 30, the input power source 12, the host device 11, thetransmission antenna 21, the receiver antenna 31, along with any othercomponents and/or subcomponents thereof.

As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the sensing system 50 mayinclude, but is not limited to including, a thermal sensing system 52,an object sensing system 54, a receiver sensing system 56, and/or anyother sensor(s) 58. Within these systems, there may exist even morespecific optional additional or alternative sensing systems addressingparticular sensing aspects required by an application, such as, but notlimited to: a condition-based maintenance sensing system, a performanceoptimization sensing system, a state-of-charge sensing system, atemperature management sensing system, a component heating sensingsystem, an IoT sensing system, an energy and/or power management sensingsystem, an impact detection sensing system, an electrical status sensingsystem, a speed detection sensing system, a device health sensingsystem, among others. The object sensing system 54, may be a foreignobject detection (FOD) system.

Each of the thermal sensing system 52, the object sensing system 54, thereceiver sensing system 56 and/or the other sensor(s) 58, including theoptional additional or alternative systems, are operatively and/orcommunicatively connected to the transmission controller 28. The thermalsensing system 52 is configured to monitor ambient and/or componenttemperatures within the wireless transmission system 20 or otherelements nearby the wireless transmission system 20. The thermal sensingsystem 52 may be configured to detect a temperature within the wirelesstransmission system 20 and, if the detected temperature exceeds athreshold temperature, the transmission controller 28 prevents thewireless transmission system 20 from operating. Such a thresholdtemperature may be configured for safety considerations, operationalconsiderations, efficiency considerations, and/or any combinationsthereof. In a non-limiting example, if, via input from the thermalsensing system 52, the transmission controller 28 determines that thetemperature within the wireless transmission system 20 has increasedfrom an acceptable operating temperature to an undesired operatingtemperature (e.g., in a non-limiting example, the internal temperatureincreasing from about 20° Celsius (C) to about 50° C., the transmissioncontroller 28 prevents the operation of the wireless transmission system20 and/or reduces levels of power output from the wireless transmissionsystem 20. In some non-limiting examples, the thermal sensing system 52may include one or more of a thermocouple, a thermistor, a negativetemperature coefficient (NTC) resistor, a resistance temperaturedetector (RTD), and/or any combinations thereof.

As depicted in FIG. 4 , the transmission sensing system 50 may includethe object sensing system 54. The object sensing system 54 may beconfigured to detect one or more of the wireless receiver system 30and/or the receiver antenna 31, thus indicating to the transmissioncontroller 28 that the receiver system 30 is proximate to the wirelesstransmission system 20. Additionally or alternatively, the objectsensing system 54 may be configured to detect presence of unwantedobjects in contact with or proximate to the wireless transmission system20. In some examples, the object sensing system 54 is configured todetect the presence of an undesired object. In some such examples, ifthe transmission controller 28, via information provided by the objectsensing system 54, detects the presence of an undesired object, then thetransmission controller 28 prevents or otherwise modifies operation ofthe wireless transmission system 20. In some examples, the objectsensing system 54 utilizes an impedance change detection scheme, inwhich the transmission controller 28 analyzes a change in electricalimpedance observed by the transmission antenna 20 against a known,acceptable electrical impedance value or range of electrical impedancevalues.

Additionally or alternatively, the object sensing system 54 may utilizea quality factor (Q) change detection scheme, in which the transmissioncontroller 28 analyzes a change from a known quality factor value orrange of quality factor values of the object being detected, such as thereceiver antenna 31. The “quality factor” or “Q” of an inductor can bedefined as (frequency (Hz)×inductance (H))/resistance (ohms), wherefrequency is the operational frequency of the circuit, inductance is theinductance output of the inductor and resistance is the combination ofthe radiative and reactive resistances that are internal to theinductor. “Quality factor,” as defined herein, is generally accepted asan index (figure of measure) that measures the efficiency of anapparatus like an antenna, a circuit, or a resonator. In some examples,the object sensing system 54 may include one or more of an opticalsensor, an electro-optical sensor, a Hall effect sensor, a proximitysensor, and/or any combinations thereof.

The receiver sensing system 56 is any sensor, circuit, and/orcombinations thereof configured to detect presence of any wirelessreceiving system that may be couplable with the wireless transmissionsystem 20. In some examples, the receiver sensing system 56 and theobject sensing system 54 may be combined, may share components, and/ormay be embodied by one or more common components. In some examples, ifthe presence of any such wireless receiving system is detected, wirelesstransmission of electrical energy, electrical power, electromagneticenergy, and/or data by the wireless transmission system 20 to saidwireless receiving system is enabled. In some examples, if the presenceof a wireless receiver system is not detected, continued wirelesstransmission of electrical energy, electrical power, electromagneticenergy, and/or data is prevented from occurring. Accordingly, thereceiver sensing system 56 may include one or more sensors and/or may beoperatively associated with one or more sensors that are configured toanalyze electrical characteristics within an environment of or proximateto the wireless transmission system 20 and, based on the electricalcharacteristics, determine presence of a wireless receiver system 30.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , and with continued reference to FIGS. 1-4 , ablock diagram illustrating an embodiment of the power conditioningsystem 40 is illustrated. At the power conditioning system 40,electrical power is received, generally, as a DC power source, via theinput power source 12 itself or an intervening power converter,converting an AC source to a DC source (not shown). A voltage regulator46 receives the electrical power from the input power source 12 and isconfigured to provide electrical power for transmission by the antenna21 and provide electrical power for powering components of the wirelesstransmission system 21. Accordingly, the voltage regulator 46 isconfigured to convert the received electrical power into at least twoelectrical power signals, each at a proper voltage for operation of therespective downstream components: a first electrical power signal toelectrically power any components of the wireless transmission system 20and a second portion conditioned and modified for wireless transmissionto the wireless receiver system 30. As illustrated in FIG. 3 , such afirst portion is transmitted to, at least, the sensing system 50, thetransmission controller 28, and the communications system 29; however,the first portion is not limited to transmission to just thesecomponents and can be transmitted to any electrical components of thewireless transmission system 20.

The second portion of the electrical power is provided to an amplifier42 of the power conditioning system 40, which is configured to conditionthe electrical power for wireless transmission by the antenna 21. Theamplifier may function as an invertor, which receives an input DC powersignal from the voltage regulator 46 and generates an AC as output,based, at least in part, on PWM input from the transmission controlsystem 26. The amplifier 42 may be or include, for example, a powerstage invertor, such as a dual field effect transistor power stageinvertor or a quadruple field effect transistor power stage invertor.The use of the amplifier 42 within the power conditioning system 40 and,in turn, the wireless transmission system 20 enables wirelesstransmission of electrical signals having much greater amplitudes thanif transmitted without such an amplifier. For example, the addition ofthe amplifier 42 may enable the wireless transmission system 20 totransmit electrical energy as an electrical power signal havingelectrical power from about 10 mW to about 500 W. In some examples, theamplifier 42 may be or may include one or more class-E power amplifiers.Class-E power amplifiers are efficiently tuned switching poweramplifiers designed for use at high frequencies (e.g., frequencies fromabout 1 MHz to about 1 GHz). Generally, a class-E amplifier employs asingle-pole switching element and a tuned reactive network between theswitch and an output load (e.g., the antenna 21). Class E amplifiers mayachieve high efficiency at high frequencies by only operating theswitching element at points of zero current (e.g., on-to-off switching)or zero voltage (off to on switching). Such switching characteristicsmay minimize power lost in the switch, even when the switching time ofthe device is long compared to the frequency of operation. However, theamplifier 42 is certainly not limited to being a class-E power amplifierand may be or may include one or more of a class D amplifier, a class EFamplifier, an H invertor amplifier, and/or a push-pull invertor, amongother amplifiers that could be included as part of the amplifier 42.

Turning now to FIG. 6 and with continued reference to, at least, FIGS. 1and 2 , the wireless receiver system 30 is illustrated in furtherdetail. The wireless receiver system 30 is configured to receive, atleast, electrical energy, electrical power, electromagnetic energy,and/or electrically transmittable data via near field magnetic couplingfrom the wireless transmission system 20, via the transmission antenna21. As illustrated in FIG. 6 , the wireless receiver system 30 includes,at least, the receiver antenna 31, a receiver tuning and filteringsystem 34, a power conditioning system 32, a receiver control system 36,and a voltage isolation circuit 70. The receiver tuning and filteringsystem 34 may be configured to substantially match the electricalimpedance of the wireless transmission system 20. In some examples, thereceiver tuning and filtering system 34 may be configured to dynamicallyadjust and substantially match the electrical impedance of the receiverantenna 31 to a characteristic impedance of the power generator or theload at a driving frequency of the transmission antenna 20.

As illustrated, the power conditioning system 32 includes a rectifier 33and a voltage regulator 35. In some examples, the rectifier 33 is inelectrical connection with the receiver tuning and filtering system 34.The rectifier 33 is configured to modify the received electrical energyfrom an alternating current electrical energy signal to a direct currentelectrical energy signal. In some examples, the rectifier 33 iscomprised of at least one diode. Some non-limiting exampleconfigurations for the rectifier 33 include, but are not limited toincluding, a full wave rectifier, including a center tapped full waverectifier and a full wave rectifier with filter, a half wave rectifier,including a half wave rectifier with filter, a bridge rectifier,including a bridge rectifier with filter, a split supply rectifier, asingle phase rectifier, a three phase rectifier, a voltage doubler, asynchronous voltage rectifier, a controlled rectifier, an uncontrolledrectifier, and a half controlled rectifier. As electronic devices may besensitive to voltage, additional protection of the electronic device maybe provided by clipper circuits or devices. In this respect, therectifier 33 may further include a clipper circuit or a clipper device,which is a circuit or device that removes either the positive half (tophalf), the negative half (bottom half), or both the positive and thenegative halves of an input AC signal. In other words, a clipper is acircuit or device that limits the positive amplitude, the negativeamplitude, or both the positive and the negative amplitudes of the inputAC signal.

Some non-limiting examples of a voltage regulator 35 include, but arenot limited to, including a series linear voltage regulator, a buckconvertor, a low dropout (LDO) regulator, a shunt linear voltageregulator, a step up switching voltage regulator, a step down switchingvoltage regulator, an invertor voltage regulator, a Zener controlledtransistor series voltage regulator, a charge pump regulator, and anemitter follower voltage regulator. The voltage regulator 35 may furtherinclude a voltage multiplier, which is as an electronic circuit ordevice that delivers an output voltage having an amplitude (peak value)that is two, three, or more times greater than the amplitude (peakvalue) of the input voltage. The voltage regulator 35 is in electricalconnection with the rectifier 33 and configured to adjust the amplitudeof the electrical voltage of the wirelessly received electrical energysignal, after conversion to DC by the rectifier 33. In some examples,the voltage regulator 35 may be an LDO linear voltage regulator;however, other voltage regulation circuits and/or systems arecontemplated. As illustrated, the direct current electrical energysignal output by the voltage regulator 35 is received at the load 16 ofthe electronic device 14. In some examples, a portion of the directcurrent electrical power signal may be utilized to power the receivercontrol system 36 and any components thereof; however, it is certainlypossible that the receiver control system 36, and any componentsthereof, may be powered and/or receive signals from the load 16 (e.g.,when the load 16 is a battery and/or other power source) and/or othercomponents of the electronic device 14.

The receiver control system 36 may include, but is not limited toincluding, a receiver controller 38, a communications system 39 and amemory 37. The receiver controller 38 may be any electronic controlleror computing system that includes, at least, a processor which performsoperations, executes control algorithms, stores data, retrieves data,gathers data, controls and/or provides communication with othercomponents and/or subsystems associated with the wireless receiversystem 30. The receiver controller 38 may be a single controller or mayinclude more than one controller disposed to control various functionsand/or features of the wireless receiver system 30. Functionality of thereceiver controller 38 may be implemented in hardware and/or softwareand may rely on one or more data maps relating to the operation of thewireless receiver system 30. To that end, the receiver controller 38 maybe operatively associated with the memory 37. The memory may include oneor both of internal memory, external memory, and/or remote memory (e.g.,a database and/or server operatively connected to the receivercontroller 38 via a network, such as, but not limited to, the Internet).The internal memory and/or external memory may include, but are notlimited to including, one or more of a read only memory (ROM), includingprogrammable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or sometimes but rarely labelled EROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), random access memory(RAM), including dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronousdynamic RAM (SDRAM), single data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRSDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3,DDR4), and graphics double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (GDDRSDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4, GDDR5, a flash memory, a portable memory,and the like. Such memory media are examples of nontransitory computerreadable memory media.

Further, while particular elements of the receiver control system 36 areillustrated as subcomponents and/or circuits (e.g., the memory 37, thecommunications system 39, among other contemplated elements) of thereceiver control system 36, such components may be external of thereceiver controller 38. In some examples, the receiver controller 38 maybe and/or include one or more integrated circuits configured to includefunctional elements of one or both of the receiver controller 38 and thewireless receiver system 30, generally. As used herein, the term“integrated circuits” generally refers to a circuit in which all or someof the circuit elements are inseparably associated and electricallyinterconnected so that it is considered to be indivisible for thepurposes of construction and commerce. Such integrated circuits mayinclude, but are not limited to including, thin-film transistors,thick-film technologies, and/or hybrid integrated circuits.

In some examples, the receiver controller 38 may be a dedicated circuitconfigured to send and receive data at a given operating frequency. Forexample, the receiver controller 38 may be a tagging or identifierintegrated circuit, such as, but not limited to, an NFC tag and/orlabelling integrated circuit. Examples of such NFC tags and/or labellingintegrated circuits include the NTAG® family of integrated circuitsmanufactured by NXP Semiconductors N.V. However, the communicationssystem 39 is certainly not limited to these example components and, insome examples, the communications system 39 may be implemented withanother integrated circuit (e.g., integrated with the receivercontroller 38), and/or may be another transceiver of or operativelyassociated with one or both of the electronic device 14 and the wirelessreceiver system 30, among other contemplated communication systemsand/or apparatus. Further, in some examples, functions of thecommunications system 39 may be integrated with the receiver controller38, such that the controller modifies the inductive field between theantennas 21, 31 to communicate in the frequency band of wireless powertransfer operating frequency.

Turning now to FIGS. 7 and 8 , the wireless receiver system 30 isillustrated in further detail to show some example functionality of oneor more of the receiver controller 38, the voltage isolation circuit 70,and the rectifier 33. The block diagram of the wireless receiver system30 illustrates one or more electrical signals and the conditioning ofsuch signals, altering of such signals, transforming of such signals,rectifying of such signals, amplification of such signals, andcombinations thereof. DC power signals are illustrated with heavilybolded lines, such that the lines are significantly thicker than othersolid lines in FIG. 7 and other figures of the instant application, ACsignals are illustrated as substantially sinusoidal wave forms with athickness significantly less bolded than that of the DC power signalbolding, and data signals are represented as dotted lines. FIG. 8illustrates sample electrical components for elements of the wirelesstransmission system, and subcomponents thereof, in a simplified form.Note that FIG. 8 may represent one branch or subsection of a schematicfor the wireless receiver system 30 and/or components of the wirelessreceiver system 30 may be omitted from the schematic, illustrated inFIG. 8 , for clarity.

As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the receiver antenna 31 receives the ACwireless signal, which includes the AC power signal (V_(AC)) and thedata signals (denoted as “Data” in FIG. 10 ), from the transmitterantenna 21 of the wireless transmission system 20. V_(AC) will bereceived at the rectifier 33 and/or the broader receiver powerconditioning system 32, wherein the AC wireless power signal isconverted to a DC power signal (V_(DC_REKT)). V_(DC_REKT) is thenprovided to, at least, the load 16 that is operatively associated withthe wireless receiver system 30. In some examples, V_(DC_REKT) isregulated by the voltage regulator 35 and provided as a DC input voltage(V_(DC_CONT)) for the receiver controller 38. In some examples, such asthe signal path shown in FIG. 8 , the receiver controller 38 may bedirectly powered by the load 16. In some other examples, the receivercontroller 38 need not be powered by the load 16 and/or receipt ofV_(DC_CONT), but the receiver controller 38 may harness, capture, and/orstore power from V_(AC), as power receipt occurring in receiving,decoding, and/or otherwise detecting the data signals in-band of V_(AC).

The receiver controller 38 is configured to perform one or more ofencoding the wireless data signals, decoding the wireless data signals,receiving the wireless data signals, transmitting the wireless datasignals, and/or any combinations thereof. In examples, wherein the datasignals are encoded and/or decoded as amplitude shift keyed (ASK)signals and/or OOK signals, the receiver controller 38 may receiveand/or otherwise detect or monitor voltage levels of V_(AC) to detectin-band ASK and/or OOK signals. However, at higher power levels thanthose currently utilized in standard high frequency, NFMC communicationsand/or low power wireless power transmission, large voltages and/orlarge voltage swings at the input of a controller, such as thecontroller 38, may be too large for legacy microprocessor controllers tohandle without disfunction or damage being done to suchmicrocontrollers. Additionally, certain microcontrollers may only beoperable at certain operating voltage ranges and, thus, when highfrequency wireless power transfer occurs, the voltage swings at theinput to such microcontrollers may be out of range or too wide of arange for consistent operation of the microcontroller.

For example, in some high frequency higher power wireless power transfersystems 10, when an output power from the wireless power transmitter 20is greater than 1 W, voltage across the controller 38 may be higher thandesired for the controller 38. Higher voltage, lower currentconfigurations are often desirable, as such configurations may generatelower thermal losses and/or lower generated heat in the system 10, incomparison to a high current, low voltage transmission. To that end, theload 16 may not be a consistent load, meaning that the resistance and/orimpedance at the load 16 may swing drastically during, before, and/orafter an instance of wireless power transfer.

This is particularly an issue when the load 16 is a battery or otherpower storing device, as a fully charged battery has a much higherresistance than a fully depleted battery. For the purposes of thisillustrative discussion, we will assume:

V _(AC_MIN) =I _(AC_MIN) *R _(LOAD_MIN), and

P _(AC_MIN) =I _(AC) *V _(LOAD_MIN)=(I _(AC_MIN))² *R _(LOAD_MIN)

wherein R_(LOAD_MIN) is the minimum resistance of the load 16 (e.g., ifthe load 16 is or includes a battery, when the battery of the load 16 isdepleted), I_(AC_MIN) is the current at R_(LOAD_MIN), V_(AC_MIN) is thevoltage of V_(AC) when the load 16 is at its minimum resistance andP_(AC_MIN) is the optimal power level for the load 16 at its minimalresistance. Further, we will assume:

V _(AC_MAX) =I _(AC_MAX) *R _(LOAD_MAX), and

P _(AC_MAX) =I _(AC_MAX) *V _(LOAD_MAX) =I _(AC_MAX))² *R _(LOAD_MAX)

wherein R_(LOAD_MAX) is the maximum resistance of the load 16 (e.g., ifthe load 16 is or includes a battery, when the battery of the load 16 isdepleted), I_(AC_MAX) is the current at V_(AC_MAX), V_(AC_MAX) is thevoltage of V_(AC) when the load 16 is at its minimum resistance andP_(AC_MAX) is the optimal power level for the load 16 at its maximalresistance.

Accordingly, as the current is desired to stay relatively low, theinverse relationship between I_(AC) and V_(AC) dictate that the voltagerange must naturally shift, in higher ranges, with the change ofresistance at the load 16. However, such voltage shifts may beunacceptable for proper function of the controller 38. To mitigate theseissues, the voltage isolation circuit 70 is included to isolate therange of voltages that can be seen at a data input and/or output of thecontroller 38 to an isolated controller voltage (V_(CONT)), which is ascaled version of V_(AC) and, thus, comparably scales any voltage-basedin-band data input and/or output at the controller 38. Accordingly, if arange for the AC wireless signal that is an unacceptable input range forthe controller 38 is represented by

V _(AC)=[V _(AC_MIN) :V _(AC_MAX)]

then the voltage isolation circuit 70 is configured to isolate thecontroller-unacceptable voltage range from the controller 38, by settingan impedance transformation to minimize the voltage swing and providethe controller with a scaled version of V_(AC), which does notsubstantially alter the data signal at receipt. Such a scaled controllervoltage, based on V_(AC), is V_(CONT), where

V _(CONT)=[V _(CONT_MIN) :V _(CONT_MAX)].

While an altering load is one possible reason that an unacceptablevoltage swing may occur at a data input of a controller, there may beother physical, electrical, and/or mechanical characteristics and/orphenomena that may affect voltage swings in V_(AC), such as, but notlimited to, changes in coupling (k) between the antennas 21, 31,detuning of the system(s) 10, 20, 30 due to foreign objects, proximityof another receiver system 30 within a common field area, among otherthings.

As best illustrated in FIG. 8 , the voltage isolation circuit 70includes at least two capacitors, a first isolation capacitor C_(ISO1)and a second isolation capacitor C_(ISO2). While only two series, splitcapacitors are illustrated in FIG. 8 , it should also be understood thatthe voltage isolation circuit may include additional pairs of splitseries capacitors. C_(ISO1) and C_(ISO2) are electrically in series withone another, with a node therebetween, the node providing a connectionto the data input of the receiver controller 38. C_(ISO1) and C_(ISO2)are configured to regulate V_(AC) to generate the acceptable voltageinput range V_(CONT) for input to the controller. Thus, the voltageisolation circuit 70 is configured to isolate the controller 38 fromV_(AC), which is a load voltage, if one considers the rectifier 33 to bepart of a downstream load from the receiver controller 38.

In some examples, the capacitance values are configured such that aparallel combination of all capacitors of the voltage isolation circuit70 (e.g. C_(ISO1) and C_(ISO2)) is equal to a total capacitance for thevoltage isolation circuit (C_(TOTAL)). Thus,

C _(ISO11) ∥C _(ISO2) =C _(TOTAL),

wherein C_(TOTAL) is a constant capacitance configured for theacceptable voltage input range for input to the controller. C_(TOTAL)can be determined by experimentation and/or can be configured viamathematical derivation for a particular microcontroller embodying thereceiver controller 38.

In some examples, with a constant C_(TOTAL), individual values for theisolation capacitors C_(ISO1) and C_(ISO2) may be configured inaccordance with the following relationships:

${C_{{ISO}1} = \frac{C_{TOTAL}*\left( {1 + t_{v}} \right)}{t_{v}}},{and}$C_(ISO2) = C_(TOTAL) * (1 + t_(v)).

wherein t_(v) is a scaling factor, which can be experimentally alteredto determine the best scaling values for C_(ISO1) and C_(ISO2), for agiven system. Alternatively, t_(v) may be mathematically derived, basedon desired electrical conditions for the system. In some examples (whichmay be derived from experimental results), t_(v) may be in a range ofabout 3 to about 10.

FIG. 8 further illustrates an example for the receiver tuning andfiltering system 34, which may be configured for utilization inconjunction with the voltage isolation circuit 70. The receiver tuningand filtering system 34 of FIG. 8 includes a controller capacitorC_(CONT), which is connected in series with the data input of thereceiver controller 38. The controller capacitor is configured forfurther scaling of V_(AC) at the controller, as altered by the voltageisolation circuit 70. To that end, the first and second isolationcapacitors, as shown, may be connected in electrical parallel, withrespect to the controller capacitor.

Additionally, in some examples, the receiver tuning and filtering system34 includes a receiver shunt capacitor C_(RxSHUNT), which is connectedin electrical parallel with the receiver antenna 31. C_(RxSHUNT) isutilized for initial tuning of the impedance of the wireless receiversystem 30 and/or the broader system 30 for proper impedance matchingand/or C_(RxSHUNT) is included to increase the voltage gain of a signalreceived by the receiver antenna 31.

The wireless receiver system 30, utilizing the voltage isolation circuit70, may have the capability to achieve proper data communicationsfidelity at greater receipt power levels at the load 16, when comparedto other high frequency wireless power transmission systems. To thatend, the wireless receiver system 30, with the voltage isolation circuit70, is capable of receiving power from the wireless transmission systemthat has an output power at levels over 1 W of power, whereas legacyhigh frequency systems may be limited to receipt from output levels ofonly less than 1 W of power. For example, in legacy NFC-DC systems, thepoller (receiver system) often utilizes a microprocessor from the NTAGfamily of microprocessors, which was initially designed for very lowpower data communications. NTAG microprocessors, without protection orisolation, may not adequately and/or efficiently receive wireless powersignals at output levels over 1 W. However, inventors of the presentapplication have found, in experimental results, that when utilizingvoltage isolation circuits as disclosed herein, the NTAG chip may beutilized and/or retrofitted for wireless power transfer and wirelesscommunications, either independently or simultaneously.

To that end, the voltage isolation circuits disclosed herein may utilizeinexpensive components (e.g., isolation capacitors) to modifyfunctionality of legacy, inexpensive microprocessors (e.g., an NTAGfamily microprocessor), for new uses and/or improved functionality.Further, while alternative controllers may be used as the receivercontroller 38 that may be more capable of receipt at higher voltagelevels and/or voltage swings, such controllers may be cost prohibitive,in comparison to legacy controllers. Accordingly, the systems andmethods herein allow for use of less costly components, for high powerhigh frequency wireless power transfer.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example, non-limiting embodiment of one or more ofthe transmission antenna 21 and the receiver antenna 31 that may be usedwith any of the systems, methods, and/or apparatus disclosed herein. Inthe illustrated embodiment, the antenna 21, 31, is a flat spiral coilconfiguration. Non-limiting examples can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos.9,941,743, 9,960,628, 9,941,743 all to Peralta et al.; 9,948,129,10,063,100 to Singh et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 9,941,590 to Luzinski; U.S.Pat. No. 9,960,629 to Rajagopalan et al.; and U.S. Patent App. Nos.2017/0040107, 2017/0040105, 2017/0040688 to Peralta et al.; all of whichare assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporatedfully herein by reference.

In addition, the antenna 21, 31 may be constructed having amulti-layer-multi-turn (MLMT) construction in which at least oneinsulator is positioned between a plurality of conductors. Non-limitingexamples of antennas having an MLMT construction that may beincorporated within the wireless transmission system(s) 20 and/or thewireless receiver system(s) 30 may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,610,530,8,653,927, 8,680,960, 8,692,641, 8,692,642, 8,698,590, 8,698,591,8,707,546, 8,710,948, 8,803,649, 8,823,481, 8,823,482, 8,855,786,8,898,885, 9,208,942, 9,232,893, and 9,300,046 to Singh et al., all ofwhich are assigned to the assignee of the present application areincorporated fully herein. These are merely exemplary antenna examples;however, it is contemplated that the antennas 21, 31 may be any antennacapable of the aforementioned higher power, high frequency wirelesspower transfer.

FIG. 10 is an example block diagram for a method 1000 of designing asystem for wirelessly transferring one or more of electrical energy,electrical power, electromagnetic energy, and electronic data, inaccordance with the systems, methods, and apparatus of the presentdisclosure. To that end, the method 1000 may be utilized to design asystem in accordance with any disclosed embodiments of the system 10 andany components thereof.

At block 1200, the method 1000 includes designing a wirelesstransmission system for use in the system 10. The wireless transmissionsystem designed at block 1200 may be designed in accordance with one ormore of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the wirelesstransmission system 20, in whole or in part and, optionally, includingany components thereof. Block 1200 may be implemented as a method 1200for designing a wireless transmission system.

Turning now to FIG. 11 and with continued reference to the method 1000of FIG. 10 , an example block diagram for the method 1200 for designinga wireless transmission system is illustrated. The wireless transmissionsystem designed by the method 1200 may be designed in accordance withone or more of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of thewireless transmission system 20 in whole or in part and, optionally,including any components thereof. The method 1200 includes designingand/or selecting a transmission antenna for the wireless transmissionsystem, as illustrated in block 1210. The designed and/or selectedtransmission antenna may be designed and/or selected in accordance withone or more of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of thetransmission antenna 21, in whole or in part and including anycomponents thereof. The method 1200 also includes designing and/ortuning a transmission tuning system for the wireless transmissionsystem, as illustrated in block 1220. Such designing and/or tuning maybe utilized for, but not limited to being utilized for, impedancematching, as discussed in more detail above. The designed and/or tunedtransmission tuning system may be designed and/or tuned in accordancewith one or more of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments ofwireless transmission system 20, in whole or in part and, optionally,including any components thereof.

The method 1200 further includes designing a power conditioning systemfor the wireless transmission system, as illustrated in block 1230. Thepower conditioning system designed may be designed with any of aplurality of power output characteristic considerations, such as, butnot limited to, power transfer efficiency, maximizing a transmission gap(e.g., the gap 17), increasing output voltage to a receiver, mitigatingpower losses during wireless power transfer, increasing power outputwithout degrading fidelity for data communications, optimizing poweroutput for multiple coils receiving power from a common circuit and/oramplifier, among other contemplated power output characteristicconsiderations. The power conditioning system may be designed inaccordance with one or more of the aforementioned and disclosedembodiments of the power conditioning system 40, in whole or in partand, optionally, including any components thereof. Further, at block1240, the method 1200 may involve determining and/or optimizing aconnection, and any associated connection components, between the inputpower source 12 and the power conditioning system that is designed atblock 1230. Such determining and/or optimizing may include selecting andimplementing protection mechanisms and/or apparatus, selecting and/orimplementing voltage protection mechanisms, among other things.

The method 1200 further includes designing and/or programing atransmission control system of the wireless transmission system of themethod 1000, as illustrated in block 1250. The designed transmissioncontrol system may be designed in accordance with one or more of theaforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the transmission controlsystem 26, in whole or in part and, optionally, including any componentsthereof. Such components thereof include, but are not limited toincluding, the sensing system 50, the driver 41, the transmissioncontroller 28, the memory 27, the communications system 29, the thermalsensing system 52, the object sensing system 54, the receiver sensingsystem 56, the other sensor(s) 58, the gate voltage regulator 43, thePWM generator 41, the frequency generator 348, in whole or in part and,optionally, including any components thereof.

Returning now to FIG. 10 , at block 1300, the method 1000 includesdesigning a wireless receiver system for use in the system 10. Thewireless transmission system designed at block 1300 may be designed inaccordance with one or more of the aforementioned and disclosedembodiments of the wireless receiver system 30 in whole or in part and,optionally, including any components thereof. Block 1300 may beimplemented as a method 1300 for designing a wireless receiver system.

Turning now to FIG. 12 and with continued reference to the method 1000of FIG. 10 , an example block diagram for the method 1300 for designinga wireless receiver system is illustrated. The wireless receiver systemdesigned by the method 1300 may be designed in accordance with one ormore of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the wirelessreceiver system 30 in whole or in part and, optionally, including anycomponents thereof. The method 1300 includes designing and/or selectinga receiver antenna for the wireless receiver system, as illustrated inblock 1310. The designed and/or selected receiver antenna may bedesigned and/or selected in accordance with one or more of theaforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the receiver antenna 31, inwhole or in part and including any components thereof. The method 1300includes designing and/or tuning a receiver tuning system for thewireless receiver system, as illustrated in block 1320. Such designingand/or tuning may be utilized for, but not limited to being utilizedfor, impedance matching, as discussed in more detail above. The designedand/or tuned receiver tuning system may be designed and/or tuned inaccordance with one or more of the aforementioned and disclosedembodiments of the receiver tuning and filtering system 34 in whole orin part and/or, optionally, including any components thereof.

The method 1300 further includes designing a power conditioning systemfor the wireless receiver system, as illustrated in block 1330. Thepower conditioning system may be designed with any of a plurality ofpower output characteristic considerations, such as, but not limited to,power transfer efficiency, maximizing a transmission gap (e.g., the gap17), increasing output voltage to a receiver, mitigating power lossesduring wireless power transfer, increasing power output withoutdegrading fidelity for data communications, optimizing power output formultiple coils receiving power from a common circuit and/or amplifier,among other contemplated power output characteristic considerations. Thepower conditioning system may be designed in accordance with one or moreof the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the powerconditioning system 32 in whole or in part and, optionally, includingany components thereof. Further, at block 1340, the method 1300 mayinvolve determining and/or optimizing a connection, and any associatedconnection components, between the load 16 and the power conditioningsystem of block 1330. Such determining may include selecting andimplementing protection mechanisms and/or apparatus, selecting and/orimplementing voltage protection mechanisms, among other things.

The method 1300 further includes designing and/or programing a receivercontrol system of the wireless receiver system of the method 1300, asillustrated in block 1350. The designed receiver control system may bedesigned in accordance with one or more of the aforementioned anddisclosed embodiments of the receiver control system 36 in whole or inpart and, optionally, including any components thereof. Such componentsthereof include, but are not limited to including, the receivercontroller 38, the memory 37, and the communications system 39, in wholeor in part and, optionally, including any components thereof.

Returning now to the method 1000 of FIG. 10 , the method 1000 furtherincludes, at block 1400, optimizing and/or tuning both the wirelesstransmission system and the wireless receiver system for wireless powertransfer. Such optimizing and/or tuning includes, but is not limited toincluding, controlling and/or tuning parameters of system components tomatch impedance, optimize and/or set voltage and/or power levels of anoutput power signal, among other things and in accordance with any ofthe disclosed systems, methods, and apparatus herein. Further, themethod 1000 includes optimizing and/or tuning one or both of thewireless transmission system and the wireless receiver system for datacommunications, in view of system characteristics necessary for wirelesspower transfer. Such optimizing and/or tuning includes, but is notlimited to including, optimizing power characteristics for concurrenttransmission of electrical power signals and electrical data signals,tuning quality factors of antennas for different transmission schemes,among other things and in accordance with any of the disclosed systems,methods, and apparatus herein.

FIG. 13 is an example block diagram for a method 2000 for manufacturinga system for wirelessly transferring one or both of electrical powersignals and electrical data signals, in accordance with the systems,methods, and apparatus of the present disclosure. To that end, themethod 2000 may be utilized to manufacture a system in accordance withany disclosed embodiments of the system 10 and any components thereof.

At block 2200, the method 2000 includes manufacturing a wirelesstransmission system for use in the system 10. The wireless transmissionsystem manufactured at block 2200 may be designed in accordance with oneor more of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the wirelesstransmission system 20 in whole or in part and, optionally, includingany components thereof. Block 2200 may be implemented as a method 2200for manufacturing a wireless transmission system.

Turning now to FIG. 14 and with continued reference to the method 2000of FIG. 20 , an example block diagram for the method 2200 formanufacturing a wireless transmission system is illustrated. Thewireless transmission system manufactured by the method 2200 may bemanufactured in accordance with one or more of the aforementioned anddisclosed embodiments of the wireless transmission system 20 in whole orin part and, optionally, including any components thereof. The method2200 includes manufacturing a transmission antenna for the wirelesstransmission system, as illustrated in block 2210. The manufacturedtransmission system may be built and/or tuned in accordance with one ormore of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the transmissionantenna 21, in whole or in part and including any components thereof.The method 2200 also includes building and/or tuning a transmissiontuning system for the wireless transmission system, as illustrated inblock 2220. Such building and/or tuning may be utilized for, but notlimited to being utilized for, impedance matching, as discussed in moredetail above. The built and/or tuned transmission tuning system may bedesigned and/or tuned in accordance with one or more of theaforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the transmission tuningsystem 24, in whole or in part and, optionally, including any componentsthereof.

The method 2200 further includes selecting and/or connecting a powerconditioning system for the wireless transmission system, as illustratedin block 2230. The power conditioning system manufactured may bedesigned with any of a plurality of power output characteristicconsiderations, such as, but not limited to, power transfer efficiency,maximizing a transmission gap (e.g., the gap 17), increasing outputvoltage to a receiver, mitigating power losses during wireless powertransfer, increasing power output without degrading fidelity for datacommunications, optimizing power output for multiple coils receivingpower from a common circuit and/or amplifier, among other contemplatedpower output characteristic considerations. The power conditioningsystem may be designed in accordance with one or more of theaforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the power conditioningsystem 40 in whole or in part and, optionally, including any componentsthereof. Further, at block 2240, the method 2200 involve determiningand/or optimizing a connection, and any associated connectioncomponents, between the input power source 12 and the power conditioningsystem of block 2230. Such determining may include selecting andimplementing protection mechanisms and/or apparatus, selecting and/orimplementing voltage protection mechanisms, among other things.

The method 2200 further includes assembling and/or programing atransmission control system of the wireless transmission system of themethod 2000, as illustrated in block 2250. The assembled transmissioncontrol system may be assembled and/or programmed in accordance with oneor more of the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of thetransmission control system 26 in whole or in part and, optionally,including any components thereof. Such components thereof include, butare not limited to including, the sensing system 50, the driver 41, thetransmission controller 28, the memory 27, the communications system 29,the thermal sensing system 52, the object sensing system 54, thereceiver sensing system 56, the other sensor(s) 58, the gate voltageregulator 43, the PWM generator 41, the frequency generator 348, inwhole or in part and, optionally, including any components thereof.

Returning now to FIG. 13 , at block 2300, the method 2000 includesmanufacturing a wireless receiver system for use in the system 10. Thewireless transmission system manufactured at block 2300 may be designedin accordance with one or more of the aforementioned and disclosedembodiments of the wireless receiver system 30 in whole or in part and,optionally, including any components thereof. Block 2300 may beimplemented as a method 2300 for manufacturing a wireless receiversystem.

Turning now to FIG. 15 and with continued reference to the method 2000of FIG. 13 , an example block diagram for the method 2300 formanufacturing a wireless receiver system is illustrated. The wirelessreceiver system manufactured by the method 2300 may be designed inaccordance with one or more of the aforementioned and disclosedembodiments of the wireless receiver system 30 in whole or in part and,optionally, including any components thereof. The method 2300 includesmanufacturing a receiver antenna for the wireless receiver system, asillustrated in block 2310. The manufactured receiver antenna may bemanufactured, designed, and/or selected in accordance with one or moreof the aforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the receiver antenna31 in whole or in part and including any components thereof. The method2300 includes building and/or tuning a receiver tuning system for thewireless receiver system, as illustrated in block 2320. Such buildingand/or tuning may be utilized for, but not limited to being utilizedfor, impedance matching, as discussed in more detail above. The builtand/or tuned receiver tuning system may be designed and/or tuned inaccordance with one or more of the aforementioned and disclosedembodiments of the receiver tuning and filtering system 34 in whole orin part and, optionally, including any components thereof.

The method 2300 further includes selecting and/or connecting a powerconditioning system for the wireless receiver system, as illustrated inblock 2330. The power conditioning system designed may be designed withany of a plurality of power output characteristic considerations, suchas, but not limited to, power transfer efficiency, maximizing atransmission gap (e.g., the gap 17), increasing output voltage to areceiver, mitigating power losses during wireless power transfer,increasing power output without degrading fidelity for datacommunications, optimizing power output for multiple coils receivingpower from a common circuit and/or amplifier, among other contemplatedpower output characteristic considerations. The power conditioningsystem may be designed in accordance with one or more of theaforementioned and disclosed embodiments of the power conditioningsystem 32 in whole or in part and, optionally, including any componentsthereof. Further, at block 2340, the method 2300 may involve determiningand/or optimizing a connection, and any associated connectioncomponents, between the load 16 and the power conditioning system ofblock 2330. Such determining may include selecting and implementingprotection mechanisms and/or apparatus, selecting and/or implementingvoltage protection mechanisms, among other things.

The method 2300 further includes assembling and/or programing a receivercontrol system of the wireless receiver system of the method 2300, asillustrated in block 2350. The assembled receiver control system may bedesigned in accordance with one or more of the aforementioned anddisclosed embodiments of the receiver control system 36 in whole or inpart and, optionally, including any components thereof. Such componentsthereof include, but are not limited to including, the receivercontroller 38, the memory 37, and the communications system 39, in wholeor in part and, optionally, including any components thereof.

Returning now to the method 2000 of FIG. 13 , the method 2000 furtherincludes, at block 2400, optimizing and/or tuning both the wirelesstransmission system and the wireless receiver system for wireless powertransfer. Such optimizing and/or tuning includes, but is not limited toincluding, controlling and/or tuning parameters of system components tomatch impedance, optimize and/or configure voltage and/or power levelsof an output power signal, among other things and in accordance with anyof the disclosed systems, methods, and apparatus herein. Further, themethod 2000 includes optimizing and/or tuning one or both of thewireless transmission system and the wireless receiver system for datacommunications, in view of system characteristics necessary for wirelesspower transfer, as illustrated at block 2500. Such optimizing and/ortuning includes, but is not limited to including, optimizing powercharacteristics for concurrent transmission of electrical power signalsand electrical data signals, tuning quality factors of antennas fordifferent transmission schemes, among other things and in accordancewith any of the disclosed systems, methods, and apparatus herein.

The systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein are designed tooperate in an efficient, stable and reliable manner to satisfy a varietyof operating and environmental conditions. The systems, methods, and/orapparatus disclosed herein are designed to operate in a wide range ofthermal and mechanical stress environments so that data and/orelectrical energy is transmitted efficiently and with minimal loss. Inaddition, the system 10 may be designed with a small form factor using afabrication technology that allows for scalability, and at a cost thatis amenable to developers and adopters. In addition, the systems,methods, and apparatus disclosed herein may be designed to operate overa wide range of frequencies to meet the requirements of a wide range ofapplications.

In an embodiment, a ferrite shield may be incorporated within theantenna structure to improve antenna performance. Selection of theferrite shield material may be dependent on the operating frequency asthe complex magnetic permeability (μ=μ′−j*μ″) is frequency dependent.The material may be a polymer, a sintered flexible ferrite sheet, arigid shield, or a hybrid shield, wherein the hybrid shield comprises arigid portion and a flexible portion. Additionally, the magnetic shieldmay be composed of varying material compositions. Examples of materialsmay include, but are not limited to, zinc comprising ferrite materialssuch as manganese-zinc, nickel-zinc, copper-zinc, magnesium-zinc, andcombinations thereof.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series ofitems, with the term “and” or “or” to separate any of the items,modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list (i.e.,each item). The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection ofat least one of each item listed; rather, the phrase allows a meaningthat includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least oneof any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of theitems. By way of example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or“at least one of A, B, or C” each refer to only A, only B, or only C;any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, andC.

The predicate words “configured to”, “operable to”, and “programmed to”do not imply any particular tangible or intangible modification of asubject, but, rather, are intended to be used interchangeably. In one ormore embodiments, a processor configured to monitor and control anoperation or a component may also mean the processor being programmed tomonitor and control the operation or the processor being operable tomonitor and control the operation. Likewise, a processor configured toexecute code can be construed as a processor programmed to execute codeor operable to execute code.

A phrase such as “an aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations.An aspect may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. A phrasesuch as an “aspect” may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. Aphrase such as an “embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment isessential to the subject technology or that such embodiment applies toall configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating toan embodiment may apply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments.An embodiment may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. Aphrase such an “embodiment” may refer to one or more embodiments andvice versa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A configuration may provide one or moreexamples of the disclosure. A phrase such as a “configuration” may referto one or more configurations and vice versa.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” or as an “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Furthermore, to theextent that the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in thedescription or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted whenemployed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extentthat the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in the descriptionor the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similarto the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.”

Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.”Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one ormore. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine andneuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings andsubheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit thesubject disclosure.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but ratheras descriptions of particular implementations of the subject matter.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.

1. A wireless power receiver system comprising: a receiver antennaconfigured for coupling with a transmitter antenna and receiving ACwireless signals from the transmitter antenna, the AC wireless signalsincluding an AC wireless power signal and wireless data signals, thereceiver antenna operating based on an operating frequency; a powerconditioning system configured to (i) receive the AC wireless powersignal, (ii) convert the AC wireless power signal to a DC power signal,and (iii) provide the DC power signal to, at least, a load associatedwith the wireless power receiver system; a voltage isolation circuitconnected to the receiver antenna, wherein the voltage isolation circuitreceives the AC wireless power signal from the receiver antenna andprovides the AC wireless power signal to the power conditioning system,the voltage isolation circuit comprising a first isolation capacitor anda second isolation capacitor that are electrically connected in series;a receiver integrated circuit comprising: a receiver controllerconfigured to perform one or more of encoding the wireless data signals,decoding the wireless data signals, receiving the wireless data signals,or transmitting the wireless data signals; and a controller capacitor,wherein the controller capacitor is (i) electrically connected to a nodebetween the first and second isolation capacitors and (ii) electricallyconnected in series with a data input of the receiver controller, andwherein the voltage isolation circuit is configured to (i) regulate theAC wireless power signal to have a voltage input range for input to thereceiver integrated circuit for the receiver controller and (ii) isolatea controller voltage at the receiver controller from a load voltage atthe load associated with the wireless power receiver system.
 2. Thewireless power receiver system of claim 1, wherein the controllercapacitor is configured for scaling the AC wireless power signal at acontroller voltage, as altered and received from the voltage isolationcircuit.
 3. The wireless power receiver system of claim 1, furthercomprising a receiver tuning and filtering system including a shuntcapacitor in electrical parallel with the receiver antenna.
 4. Thewireless power receiver system of claim 3, wherein the first isolationcapacitor of the voltage isolation circuit is electrically connected inseries with the receiver antenna, and wherein the shunt capacitor iselectrically connected to a node between the first isolation capacitorand the receiver antenna.
 5. The wireless power receiver system of claim1, wherein the controller voltage is altered at a data pin of thereceiver integrated circuit for the receiver controller.
 6. The wirelesspower receiver system of claim 1, wherein C_(TOTAL) is a totalcapacitance for the voltage isolation circuit and is a constantconfigured for the voltage input range for input to the receiverintegrated circuit for the receiver controller, and wherein values for afirst capacitance (C_(ISO1)) of the first isolation capacitor and asecond capacitance of the second isolation capacitor (C_(ISO2)) areselected such that:${C_{{ISO}1} = \frac{C_{TOTAL}*\left( {1 + t_{v}} \right)}{t_{V}}},$C_(ISO2) = C_(TOTAL) * (1 + t_(v)).
 7. The wireless power receiversystem of claim 6, wherein t_(v) is a scaling factor in a range of about3 to about
 10. 8. The wireless power receiver system of claim 1, whereinthe receiver integrated circuit is an NTAG microprocessor from the NTAGfamily of microprocessors and the voltage input range is in a givenvoltage input range for the NTAG microprocessor.
 9. A circuit for awireless power receiver including a receiver integrated circuit having areceiver controller and a controller capacitor, the wireless powerreceiver configured for receiving an alternating current (AC) wirelesssignal from a wireless power transmission system, the AC wireless signalincluding, at least, an AC wireless power signal and wireless datasignals, the circuit comprising: a voltage isolation circuit connectedto a receiver antenna, wherein the voltage isolation circuit receivesthe AC wireless power signal from the receiver antenna and provides theAC wireless power signal to a power conditioning system, the voltageisolation circuit including a first isolation capacitor and a secondisolation capacitor that are electrically connected in series, whereinthe controller capacitor is configured for scaling the AC wireless powersignal at a controller voltage, as altered and received from the voltageisolation circuit, wherein the controller capacitor is (i) electricallyconnected to a node between the first and second isolation capacitorsand (ii) electrically connected in series with a data input of thereceiver controller of the wireless power receiver, and wherein thefirst isolation capacitor and the second isolation capacitor of thevoltage isolation circuit are configured to regulate the AC wirelesspower signal to have a voltage input range for input to the receiverintegrated circuit for the receiver controller, the voltage isolationcircuit configured to isolate the controller voltage at the receivercontroller from a load voltage at a load associated with the wirelesspower receiver.
 10. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the controllercapacitor is configured for scaling the AC wireless power signal at thecontroller voltage, as altered and received from the voltage isolationcircuit.
 11. The circuit of claim 9, further comprising a shuntcapacitor in electrical parallel with a receiver antenna of the wirelesspower receiver.
 12. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the wireless datasignals are in-band on-off-keying signals of the AC wireless powersignal.
 13. The circuit of claim 9, wherein a first capacitance(C_(ISO1)) of the first isolation capacitor and a second capacitance(C_(ISO2)) of the second isolation capacitor are configured such that:C _(ISO1) ∥C _(ISO2) =C _(TOTAL) wherein C_(TOTAL) is a totalcapacitance for the voltage isolation circuit, and wherein C_(TOTAL) isa constant configured for the voltage input range for input to thecontroller.
 14. The circuit of claim 13, wherein the values for thefirst capacitance and the second capacitance are selected such that:${C_{{ISO}1} = \frac{C_{TOTAL}*\left( {1 + t_{v}} \right)}{t_{V}}},$C_(ISO2) = C_(TOTAL) * (1 + t_(v)).
 15. The circuit of claim 14, whereint_(v) is a scaling factor in a range of about 3 to about
 10. 16. Apoller for a Near-Field Communications Direct Charge (NFC-DC) system,the poller comprising: a receiver antenna configured for coupling with atransmitter antenna of a listener and receiving an AC wireless signalfrom the transmitter antenna, the AC wireless signal including, atleast, an AC wireless power signal and wireless data signals, thereceiver antenna operating based on an operating frequency; a powerconditioning system configured to (i) receive the AC wireless powersignal, (ii) convert the AC wireless power signal to a DC power signal,and (iii) provide the DC power signal to, at least, a load associatedwith the NFC-DC system; a voltage isolation circuit connected to thereceiver antenna, wherein the voltage isolation circuit receives the ACwireless power signal from the receiver antenna and provides the ACwireless power signal to the power conditioning system, the voltageisolation circuit comprising a first isolation capacitor and a secondisolation capacitor that are electrically connected in series; areceiver integrated circuit comprising: a receiver controller configuredto perform one or more of encoding the wireless data signals, decodingthe wireless data signals, receiving the wireless data signals, ortransmitting the wireless data signals; and a controller capacitor,wherein the controller capacitor is (i) electrically connected to a nodebetween the first and second isolation capacitors and (ii) electricallyconnected in series with a data input of the receiver controller, andwherein the voltage isolation circuit is configured to (i) regulate theAC wireless power signal to have a voltage input range for input to thereceiver controller and (ii) isolate a controller voltage at thereceiver controller from a load voltage at the load associated with thepoller.
 17. The poller of claim 16, wherein the operating frequency isin a range of about 13.553 MHz to about 13.567 MHz.
 18. The poller ofclaim 16, wherein a received power of the AC wireless power signal isgreater than about 300 mW.
 19. The poller of claim 16, wherein C_(TOTAL)is a total capacitance for the voltage isolation circuit and is aconstant configured for the voltage input range for input to thereceiver controller, and wherein values for a first capacitance of thefirst isolation capacitor (C_(ISO1)) and a second capacitance of thesecond isolation capacitor (C_(ISO2)) are selected such that:${C_{{ISO}1} = \frac{C_{TOTAL}*\left( {1 + t_{v}} \right)}{t_{V}}},$C_(ISO2) = C_(TOTAL) * (1 + t_(v)).
 20. The poller of claim 16, whereinthe receiver integrated circuit is an NTAG microprocessor from the NTAGfamily of microprocessors and the voltage input range is in a givenvoltage input range for the NTAG microprocessor.